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The Lord has spoken, and called the earth. And: I said: you are gods . And: You shall not revile the gods . But many have also seized and held this title. For the demons who deceived men applied this name to idols. For which reason Jeremiah cries out: The gods, who did not make the heaven and the earth, let them perish from the face of the earth, and from the face of the heaven . And again: They made for themselves gods of silver and gods of gold . And Isaiah, mocking the construction of idols, having said that half of it he burned in the fire, and roasting flesh ate, and said: It is pleasant for me that I was warmed, and I saw light , and added: But the rest of it he carved as a God, and worships it, saying: Deliver me, for you are my god . For which reason, lamenting them, he says: Know that their heart is ashes ; And the melodist David taught us to sing: For all the gods of the nations are demons, but the Lord made the heavens . But the homonymy of the names does no harm to those who know how to be pious. For we know that the demons falsely applied the divine name both to themselves and to idols. But the saints by grace received this honor; but truly and by nature God is the God of all, and his only-begotten Son, and the all-holy Spirit. And the all-praised Paul clearly taught us this. For he says thus: For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, as there are gods many, and lords many, yet to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him . And the all-holy Spirit of God is called Spirit; but so also is the soul of man. For, he says, his Spirit will go forth . And: Bless the Lord, you spirits and souls of the righteous . And the hymnist David called the angels spirits. For, he says, who makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire . And why do I speak of the angels and the souls of men? For the Lord also named the demons thus. For, he says, he will take with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they will enter into him, and the last state of that man will be worse than the first . But the homonymy does not injure the pious. For there is one God by nature, the Father, and his only-begotten Son, and his all-holy Spirit; and one Son by nature, the only-begotten of God, the incarnate God the Word, our Lord Jesus Christ; and one Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, who completes the number of the Trinity. Thus, although many are called fathers, we worship one Father, the Father before the ages, who has also given this name to men, according to the voice of the Apostle. For, he says, I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named . Therefore, let us not, because others are called christs, deprive ourselves of the worship of our Lord Jesus Christ. For as although many are named gods and fathers, there is one God over all and Father before the ages, and although many are called sons, there is one true and natural Son, and although many are called spirits, there is one all-holy Spirit, so although many are called christs, there is one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things. And very fittingly is the Church attached to this name. For she heard the bridal-attendant Paul crying out: I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ . And again: Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church . And again, having said: For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh ; he added: This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and

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Κύριος ἐλάλησε, καὶ ἐκάλεσε τὴν γῆν. Καί· Ἐγὼ εἶπα· θεοί ἐστε . Καί· Θεοὺς οὐ κακολογήσεις . Πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ ἁρπάσαντες τήνδε τὴν κλῆσιν ἐσχήκασιν. Οἱ γὰρ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐξαπατήσαντες δαίμονες τοῖς εἰδώλοις τήνδε τὴν προσηγορίαν ἐπέθεσαν. Οὗ δὴ χάριν Ἰερεμίας βοᾷ· Θεοί, οἳ τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν οὐκ ἐποίησαν, ἀπολέσθωσαν ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς γῆς, καὶ ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ οὐρανοῦ . Καὶ πάλιν· Ἐποίησαν ἑαυτοῖς θεοὺς ἀργυροῦς καὶ θεοὺς χρυσοῦς . Καὶ ὁ Ἡσαΐας κωμῳδήσας τὴν τῶν εἰδώλων κατασκευήν, εἰρηκὼς ὅτι Τὸ ἥμισυ αὐτοῦ κατέκαυσεν ἐν πυρί, καὶ ὀπτήσας κρέας ἔφαγε, καὶ εἶπεν· Ἡδύ μοι ὅτι ἐθερμάνθην, καὶ εἶδον φῶς , καὶ ἐπήγαγε· Τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν ἔγλυψεν ὡς Θεόν, καὶ προσκυνεῖ αὐτῷ λέγων· Ἐξελοῦ με, ὅτι θεός μου εἶ σύ . Οὗ δὴ χάριν αὐτοὺς ὀδυρόμενος λέγει· Γνῶθι ὅτι σποδὸς ἡ καρδία αὐτῶν · Καὶ ὁ μελοποιὸς δὲ ∆αβὶδ ψάλλειν ἡμᾶς ἐδίδαξεν· Ὅτι πάντες οἱ θεοὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν δαιμόνια, ὁ δὲ Κύριος τοὺς οὐρανοὺς ἐποίησεν . Ἀλλὰ τὸ τῶν ὀνομάτων ὁμώνυμον οὐδὲν τοῖς εὐσεβεῖν ἐπισταμένοις λυμαίνεται. Ἴσμεν γὰρ ὡς οἱ δαίμονες ψευδῶς σφίσιν τε αὐτοῖς καὶ τοῖς εἰδώλοις τὴν θείαν προσηγορίαν ἐπέθεσαν. Οἱ δὲ ἅγιοι χάριτι ταύτην ἐδέξαντο τὴν τιμήν· ἀληθῶς δὲ καὶ φύσει Θεὸς ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεός, καὶ ὁ μονογενὴς αὐτοῦ Υἱός, καὶ τὸ πανάγιον Πνεῦμα. Καὶ τοῦτο σαφῶς ὁ πανεύφημος ἐδίδαξεν ἡμᾶς Παῦλος. Φησὶ δὲ οὕτως· Καὶ γὰρ εἴπερ εἰσὶ λεγόμενοι θεοί, εἴτε ἐν οὐρανῷ, εἴτε ἐπὶ γῆς, ὥσπερ εἰσὶ θεοὶ πολλοί, καὶ κύριοι πολλοί, ἀλλ' ἡμῖν εἶς Θεὸς ὁ Πατήρ, ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα, καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰς αὐτόν· καὶ εἷς Κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα, καὶ ἡμεῖς δι' αὐτοῦ . Καὶ Πνεῦμα δὲ Θεοῦ τὸ πανάγιον καλεῖται Πνεῦμα· ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ψυχή. Ἐξελεύσεται γάρ , φησί, τὸ Πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ . Καί· Εὐλογεῖτε, πνεύματα καὶ ψυχαὶ δικαίων, τὸν Κύριον . Καὶ τοὺς ἀγγέλους δὲ πνεύματα προσηγόρευσεν ὁ ὑμνοποιὸς ∆αβίδ. Ὁ ποιῶν γάρ, φησί, τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὑτοῦ πνεύματα, καὶ τοὺς λειτουργοὺς αὑτοῦ πυρὸς φλόγα . Καὶ τί λέγω τοὺς ἀγγέλους καὶ τὰς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ψυχάς; Καὶ γὰρ τοὺς δαίμονας οὕτως ὁ ∆εσπό-της ὠνόμασε. Παραλήψεται γάρ , φησίν, ἕτερα ἑπτὰ πνεύματα πονηρότερα ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ εἰσελεύσεται εἰς αὐτόν, καὶ ἔσται τὰ ἔσχατα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκείνου χείρονα τῶν πρώτων . Ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ἡ ὁμωνυμία τὸν εὐσεβῆ λωβᾶται. Εἷς γὰρ φύσει Θεὸς ὁ Πατήρ, καὶ ὁ μονογενὴς αὐτοῦ Υἱός, καὶ τὸ πανάγιον αὐτοῦ Πνεῦμα· καὶ εἷς φύσει Υἱός, τοῦ Θεοῦ μονογενής, ὁ ἐνανθρωπήσας Θεὸς Λόγος, ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστός· καὶ ἓν Πνεῦμα ἅγιον ὃ Παράκλητος, ὃς πληροῖ τῆς Τριάδος τὸν ἀριθμόν. Οὕτω πολλῶν ὀνομαζομένων πατέρων ἕνα προσκυνοῦμεν Πατέρα, τὸν πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων Πατέρα, τὸν καὶ ταύτην τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὴν ἐπίκλησιν δεδωκότα, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Ἀποστόλου φωνήν. Κάμπτω γάρ , φησί, τὰ γόνατά μου πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐξ οὗ πᾶσα πατριὰ ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς ὀνομάζεται . Μὴ τοίνυν τῷ ἄλλους ὀνομάζεσθαι χριστοὺς ἀποστερήσωμεν ἑαυτοὺς τῆς τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ προσκυνήσεως. Ὡς γὰρ πολλῶν ὠνομασμένων θεῶν τε καὶ πατέρων, εἷς ἐστιν ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων Θεὸς καὶ πρὸ αἰώνων Πατήρ, καὶ πολλῶν κεκλημένων υἱῶν, εἷς ὁ ἀληθινὸς καὶ φύσει Υἱός, καὶ πολλῶν προσηγορευμένων πνευμάτων, ἕν ἐστι τὸ πανάγιον Πνεῦμα, οὕτω πολλῶν κληθέντων χριστῶν, εἷς Κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα. Μάλα δὲ εἰκότως ἡ Ἐκκλησία τοῦδε ἐξήρτηται τοῦ ὀνόματος. Ἤκουσε γὰρ τοῦ νυμφοστόλου Παύλου βοῶντος· Ἡρμοσάμην ὑμᾶς ἑνὶ ἀνδρί, παρθένον ἁγνὴν παραστῆσαι τῷ Χριστῷ . Καὶ πάλιν· Οἱ ἄνδρες, ἀγαπᾶτε τὰς γυναῖκας ὑμῶν, ὡς καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ἠγάπησε τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν . Καὶ αὖθις εἰπών· Ἀντὶ τούτου καταλείψει ἄνθρωπος τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, καὶ προσκολληθήσεται πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν · ἐπήγαγε· Τὸ μυστήριον τοῦτο μέγα ἐστίν· ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω εἰς Χριστὸν καὶ